


Writing Home To Oswald

by Kateera



Series: All In a Summer [7]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Mutual Pining, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 13:49:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11761227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kateera/pseuds/Kateera
Summary: Jim's family goes on vacation and he's missing Oswald. A chat with his aunt could hold some answers to how he should handle his crush on his best friend.





	Writing Home To Oswald

**Author's Note:**

> Whew. This one got a bit heavier than I thought it would! For the #GobblepotSummer2017 prompt, Trip.   
> I'm working without a beta so I apologize for any mistakes.   
> Come visit me at [tumblr](https://kateera.tumblr.com/) (I'm always down to talk).  
> Thank you and remember, comments make my day and kudos make me smile!

**Jim: Please, shoot me and put me out of my misery.**

 

**Oswald: Sorry. Best I can do from here is verbal abuse.**

 

**Jim: Not helping. :P**

 

**Oswald: I take it you’ve made it to your aunts?**

 

**Jim: Yeah. Unpacking now. I feel like I’ll never stop sweating.**

 

**Oswald: It’s raining here.**

 

**Jim: I hate you.**

 

Throwing his phone on the bed, Jim dragged his empty suitcase to the corner of his room and propped it against the wall. Whatever prompted his mother to drag them out to Aunt Cecille’s ranch near Phoenix, Arizona, the decision meant a week in the sun, surrounded by nature and horses and an angry brother. Between the heat, Roger’s constant complaining, and Aunt Cecille’s penchant for calling him a heartbreaker, Jim was ready to hitchhike back to Gotham. His phone buzzed and he smiled at his lifeline to civilization. Talking to Oswald was the only thing he could count on to get him through this vacation.

 

**Oswald: Sorry. Can’t control the weather (yet).**

 

**Jim: That “yet” scares me. Not as much as my aunt constantly questioning why I’m still single though *shudder***

 

**Oswald: Tell her you haven’t met the right cactus yet.**

 

**Jim: Hahaha. Damn. Mom’s calling. TTYL.**

 

**Oswald: K.**

 

Jim smiled down at his phone as he made his way downstairs. His mother and Roger were already there, sitting on opposite sides of the living room and glaring at each other. Sighing at their theatrics, Jim tucked his phone away and sat down next to his mom. Roger glared at him as well. 

 

Aunt Cecille came in with a tray of lemonade and set it on the coffee table. “I know it’s too late tonight but maybe tomorrow, I was thinking we could go for a ride.”

 

“Oh Cecille, I think I’ll stay inside and recuperate tomorrow,” Jim’s mother said, giving a simpering smile as she reached for a glass of lemonade. “I’m sure the boys would love to though.”

 

Roger huffed and crossed his arms. Glaring back at his brother, Jim grabbed his own glass of lemonade and gulped it down with relief. The cool liquid soothed his heat parched throat and he started to feel a bit more human.

 

“Thanks Aunt Cecille,” Jim said with a smile. “I don’t know how to ride, but I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

 

“Ha,” Roger scoffed. “Don’t be a suck up. You’re fine to enjoy yourself but I shouldn’t even be here!”

 

“Roger!” 

 

“What mom? You know how important my job is to me and you still decided on this joke of a vacation.”

 

“Now now, there’s no need to get upset,” Aunt Cecille said, her smile slipping at the tension in the room. “This is your vacation so, we can do whatever you’d like.”

 

“Oh good, I want to go home.” Roger stood up and stomped out of the room.

 

Jim set his empty glass down and picked up Roger’s, sipping in silence while his mom and aunt shared disappointed looks and shook their heads. 

 

“He thinks now that he’s working in some hot shot business office, he’s better than his family,” Jim’s mother said with a sigh. “You got any vodka for this sis?”

 

Cecille wrinkled her brow at the request but nodded and stood up. “You’re not staying inside and drinking the whole time though, Laura. And I don’t let people ride my horses drunk.”

 

She left the room and Jim sat further back on the couch ignoring his mom and pulling out his phone. 

 

**Jim: Well, it’s been an hour and Roger’s stomped off, mom’s asked for vodka, and I wish I knew how to ride a horse.**

 

**Oswald: Wow. Are you going to learn?**

 

**Jim: It might be the only way to keep my aunt from crying.**

 

**Oswald: Aww, Jim, still the hero.**

 

**Jim: Shut up.**

 

**Oswald: On another note, Barb and Jane are back together.**

 

**Jim: What? I thought that they were actually finished this time.**

 

**Oswald: They’re currently mouth wrestling.**

 

**Jim: Oops. Sorry.**

 

“Who are you talking to Jim?” 

 

Jim looked up with a start and found his aunt returning to the room with a bottle of vodka, smiling once more.

 

“Just a friend,” Jim said, keeping his voice as casual as he could.

 

“A special friend?” She asked with a wink, handing the vodka to his mother and returning to her seat..

 

“No!” He watched his mother pour a generous amount of vodka into her lemonade. “I told you, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

 

Aunt Cecille chuckled. “If I smiled at my phone like that, I’d want whoever was on the other side to be more than a friend.”

 

Jim blushed and his aunt clapped her hands. “I knew it! What are you waiting for? She’s not going to hang around forever.”

 

“It’s not that simple,” Jim said, directing a pointed glance to his mother. He might not be confused anymore but this wasn’t how he wanted his mom to find out he liked a boy.

 

Aunt Cecille must have read enough from his tone to get the hint because she lowered her voice. “If you’re rested enough for a trip to the barn, I can introduce you to the horses.”

 

Jim looked up to find her gazing at him with fond eyes. His gut twisted with nevers, but he nodded and put his glass down, checking his phone while they walked. Oswald had sent a picture of Barb and Jane, both wearing black from head to toe and kissing at the park, with the caption “Zombie love, it never dies”. Jim laughed, picturing Oswald trapped with the couple, waiting for them to come up for air so he escape. Following his aunt outside, Jim texted with Oswald and tried to swallow the lump in his throat at how much he missed his prickly friend. 

 

**Jim: How’s work been going for you?**

 

**Oswald: Ugh. Did you know it was possible to piss off a dry cleaning business so much that they would shred your suits? Cause it’s possible. I also learned that fabric softener is hell to clean out of your hair.**

 

**Jim: What? What happened?**

 

**Oswald: I went to pick up Mr. Gilzean’s suits and got fabric softener thrown on me and then they dumped all the suits out in ribbons. They looked like they’d used a shredder. I don’t think that place will be in business much longer.**

 

**Jim: Yikes. That sucks.**

 

**Oswald: Yeah. Anyway, that’s my exciting news. Is Arizona still awful?**

 

**Jim: Maybe. We’re going to go say hi to the horses.**

 

**Oswald: *waves at the horses***

 

Grinning wide at Oswald’s antics, Jim almost ran into the barn door and only his aunt’s hand dragging him sideways saved him from a concussion.

 

“Put the phone away before you trip and wreck that face of yours,” Aunt Cecille said, one eyebrow raised and her smirk back in place. 

 

**Jim: You’re a dork. I’ve gotta go. TTYL.**

 

**Oswald: Bye.**

 

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Jim followed his aunt through the barn and over to where a large chestnut horse peeked out over his stall and nickered at them. 

 

“Hey there big boy,” Cecille cooed. “This is my nephew, Jim. He’s going to be your new best friend.”

 

Looking at the horse cautiously, Jim had reservations about her statement, but held out his hand for the horse to sniff. Cecille handed him a slice of apple and he offered it up with an open palm, the big animal picking it up with delicate lips and crunching happily. Jim patted his head and rubbed him between the eyes and gave his aunt a huge smile.

 

“Yeah, they grow on you pretty quick,” she said, patting the horse on his neck while Jim stroked his fingers through the course mane. 

 

“What’s his name?” He asked.

 

“Well, he’s actual name is Roaring Lightning but I call him Thor.” She smiled and her eyes turned calculating. “Same question. What’s his name?”

 

Jim gulped and looked up in shock. “What?”

 

“Don’t play dumb with me.” She walked to the back of the barn, sitting on a hay bale and patting the spot beside her. “Come here and tell me his name.”

 

Jim gave Thor one more pat to the neck before he joined his aunt on the hay bale and stared at his shoes. They sat in silence, Jim kicking at the bale and trying to ignore the lump in his throat while his aunt leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. 

 

“Oswald. His name’s Oswald,” Jim said at last, feeling the lump disappear as the words spilled out. “I met him this summer and he’s funny and tough and lonely. I think I’m his first friend and I don’t want to ruin everything with this stupid crush.”

 

Cecille scoffed and picked a piece of hay out of the side of the bale, sliding it between her lips. “It’s not stupid. What makes you think this will ruin it? Maybe he feels the same way.”

 

Jim shook his head. “He’s so busy with his mom and his job runs him ragged. Sometimes he comes over to play video games and falls asleep instead. I don’t want to add another complication. He doesn’t deserve it.”

 

Cecille rolled her eyes and clapped him on the back. “Don’t be an idiot. If he feels the same way, it will be a welcome complication. Are you worried about your mom?”

 

Jim laughed. “I’m always worried about mom. Not about what she’ll think though. It’s more, I don’t know. What if he’s not, what if he’s not like me?”

 

“By that you mean, what if he learns that you like him and doesn’t want to be your friend anymore?”

 

Jim looked at her and nodded, unable to speak as the thought of losing Oswald brought tears to his eyes. His aunt wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close.

 

“Oh Jim. I’m sorry you don’t know your own worth, dear boy. If he’s really your friend, he won’t care, even if he doesn’t feel the same.”

 

“He’s my best friend. I don’t even know how I went so long without knowing him.” Shaking with the force of his fear, Jim wrapped his arms tighter around Cecille and buried his face in her shoulder.

 

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” She held him as the horror of losing Oswald slowly faded and he didn’t feel so close to breaking down. 

 

Taking a deep breath, Jim sat back up and wiped at his eyes. “Sorry.”

 

Cecille chuckled and shook her head, chewing on her straw while he pulled himself back together. “Take it from someone who’s been there. Love ain’t something to throw away because of fear. Even if he want to just stay friends, you’ll feel better once you say something.”

 

Jim pulled out his phone and stared at the screen. “Maybe.”

 

“Definitely.” She punched in the shoulder and hopped off the hay bale. “Let’s go make sure your mom hasn’t finished off my vodka.”

 

Opening up his phone, Jim sent out a quick text to Oswald and then followed her out of the barn. 

 

**Jim: My aunt isn’t as bad as I thought she was. Talk to you tomorrow. I miss you.**


End file.
